


Closer to Home

by infiniteworld8



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Academy Era, Angst, Awkward Flirting, Awkwardness, Childhood Memories, Family, Family Feels, Father's Day, Humor, Innuendo, implied Tarsus IV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-06
Updated: 2013-11-25
Packaged: 2017-12-31 16:12:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1033701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infiniteworld8/pseuds/infiniteworld8
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Father's day is day's away and Dr. McCoy is in a bad mood. Kirk hacks into his friends file and discovers the reason for McCoy's ill temper. A plan to cheer McCoy up has some unintended consequences and in the process he finds himself a little closer to home...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set while both characters are in the Academy and during their first year.

McCoy was holed up in a shared office in medical, perusing the latest biobed scans from the cadets that had come on for physicals. He was doing his best to focus solely on the images and not let any stray thoughts creep into his head. His need for concentration wasn't related to difficulty in deciphering the complex images, instead it was related to McCoy trying his best to occupy his mind so he wouldn't remember what day it would be soon.

It would be Father's day in less than 3 days. The day inconveniently fell on a Sunday leaving no classes to distract the doctor. There were no myriads of cadets with idiotic aliments and injuries to take up his time. What McCoy was left with was too much time to dwell on what he missed: His daughter.

He glanced out the window. It was gray outside and rain was pouring down. McCoy felt even gloomier. It was like even the weather sensed his melancholy mood.

McCoy finally gave up trying to work and reached into his pocket pulling out a worn old-fashioned photograph of Joanna. He stared at her dimpled cheeks, brown hair, and small mischievous gap-toothed grin and his heart ached. He felt a lump growing in his throat but swallowed it down. His eyes burned but he convinced himself it was from eye strain.

McCoy had pulled out a letter from his daughter and was re-reading it for the twentieth time when a voice said "There you are Bones!"

McCoy glanced up irritably recognizing the voice and said "Jim, don't you know how to knock?" He didn't wait for an answer before turning back to his letter.

Kirk said "I do but I didn't feel like it. Plus, I don't have the time; this is sort of an emergency."

McCoy glanced back up as he noticed Kirk's voice sounded a little wheezy. "Damn it Jim! What did you do?" McCoy said loudly, startled by Kirk's appearance.

"Nothing Bones" Kirk said in an irritable voice, as he vigorously scratched his neck. Kirk had hives down one side of his face extending to his neck and hive covering both arms. A red rash was spreading over the other side of his face and his eyelids had begun to swell.

McCoy quickly left his office and walked out into main medical followed by a still scratching Kirk. Kirk sat on the edge of a biobed and watched as McCoy rummaged in drawers pulling out various cartridges. When the doctor had a small stack on the counter he started to mix the special anaphylactic treatment he had developed the first time he discovered Kirk's immune system was at war with almost anything.

"How does your throat feel?" McCoy asked while snapping the tops off two hypo cartridges and mixing the contents.

"Sore and tight." Kirk said "plus my tongue itches now." Kirk stuck his tongue out and started scratching it.

"Stop that!" McCoy said crossly. "That's disgusting."

"I can't help it Bones, it itches" Kirk said but he stopped scratching his tongue and instead ran it over his teeth trying to get rid of the scratchy sensation.

McCoy grabbed another hypo cartridge and poured half off before adding the rest to the medication cocktail he was mixing.

"Is that ready yet ?" Kirk said in a somewhat whiny voice, as he vigorously scratched his entire body. "Because I've got hives everywhere and I mean _everywhere_ " Kirk raised his eyebrows suggestively.

McCoy rolled his eyes at Kirk's implication and said "I'm nearly finished and you'll live. Hives don't kill you."

"Maybe not but they itch like crazy, plus it's—getting a –little hard to breath now."

McCoy glanced back and saw Kirk was sitting on the edge of the bed panting. He came over with a large hypo.

Kirk saw the size of the hypospray and his eyes widened. "Uh, Bones—I don't think—I have that—many hives. That hypo is over—ow!" McCoy had used Kirk's gasping protestations as an opportunity to give him the hypo.

"Stop being a baby. You didn't even feel that!"

"But I felt I should have- felt it. The _ow_ was- in anticipation." Kirk was still scratching. He glanced at McCoy and said "when does this- stuff start working?"

"Not immediately, now what was it this time? Were you with a cadet in the greenhouse making out and you touched one of those plants or did you kiss some girl that had exotic lipstick or is it _somebody_ you're allergic to? I told you all races are not compatible with certain humans and wanting–"

"Whoa—whoa ,Bones! I'm hurt. You really think badly of me." Kirk didn't look offended though, he looked flattered. Kirk continued in a not convincing hurt tone. "I was sitting in the mess hall with some cadets _innocently_ eating"

"They were female cadets of course and what were you eating?" McCoy asked dryly knowing that with Kirk nothing was innocent.

"I was eating,-Uh—" Kirk said a foreign word.

McCoy recognized the word as the name of a dessert. It was very delicious and it was also an aphrodisiac. Knowing Kirk, McCoy knew which quality the dessert had been selected for and he called his friend on it. "The food you just said is an aphrodisiac and god knows you don't need anything like that. Also you know you're not supposed to go around eating anything that comes to mind without checking it against your biochem profile at the very least!"

"Bones, you always think the worst of me. I didn't want to eat it and it wasn't me that ordered the dessert."

"Then who did? Nobody force fed it to you."

Kirk scratched his hand and turned a deeper shade of red underneath his rash. "Actually—Uh—they did force-feed me."

McCoy waited for an explanation.

Kirk looked sheepish as he explained "there was this girl and her friends and I kind of like them." McCoy snorted. Kirk liked every female cadet he had ever laid eyes on human or non-human. Kirk continued "Well anyway they were trying to decide what dessert to order and I sort of implied that they should order that one. "

McCoy scowled.

Kirk added defensively in a rush. "They offered me some, but I declined saying I had allergies. It was all going fine, until Uhura walked by and told them what it was, and then they got really mad. I mean it was just dessert. I didn't mean anything by it!"

McCoy crossed his arms and put on his most disapproving expression.

"Uhura left and those girls got really mad. They cornered me and the blue-skinned one was pretty strong too. They pinned me down and force-fed me half the plate."

"Got what you deserved!" McCoy laughed at the expression on Kirk's face.

"Bones I could have died!" Kirk said indignantly.

"But you didn't and maybe you learned your lesson."

"Yeah, don't do anything around tight a—Uhura."

McCoy shook his head and started putting his medical equipment away. Kirk glanced down at his arms and noted the fading hives. He hopped off the biobed and peered at himself in the reflection on a metal cabinet, the swelling to his eyelids was lessening he noted with satisfaction.

McCoy walked away. Now that he had finished curing Kirk of one of his yet-again deadly allergic crises, McCoy was going back to his office. He opened the door and settled into his chair, when the door popped open. Kirk slipped inside. "That was really rude walking away like that. I didn't even get a lollipop." Kirk said

"Jim go away. I have work to do."

Kirk didn't let McCoy's tone stop him from perching on the edge of McCoy's desk. He smiled and said "Come on Bones, Stop acting like an old man. It's Friday morning, classes finished early. We've got the whole weekend ahead of us."

"I'm busy. Go find somebody else to bother."

"I might but there's nobody else. Everybody pretty much left campus or is off studying somewhere. Plus it's raining outside and I'm bored." Kirk was peering curiously at an image on McCoy's computer console. He turned the console slightly so he could see the image better as he said "Let's do something fun."

"You are such a child."

Kirk shrugged "Maybe. Though I'll take that as a compliment." He was silent for several minutes as he stared at the computer image then he asked "Is that Whitis? She looks hot, nice legs and—"

McCoy turned the monitor away from Kirk's lecherous eyes and said "Keep your hands of this. These images are part of people's confidential medical records."

"Fine." Kirk scowled and slipped off McCoy's desk. He walked over to a book case in the corner of the office and started looking through the old-fashioned books with disinterest. McCoy saw him perk up a bit as he noticed an ancient copy of _Gray's Anatomy_. Kirk starred appreciatively at the detailed anatomical pictures before flipping to the back of the book. He saw that somebody had written ' _To Leonard H. McCoy, the future greatest doctor in the galaxy. I'm so proud of you.'_

"Who gave this to you?" Kirk held up the textbook.

McCoy glanced up from where he was perusing a screen of vaccination records and said quietly "My dad."

Kirk flipped through the volume for a few more minutes and then placed it back on the shelf. "That's nice your dad gave you that. It looks pretty expensive"

"It is it's a very old copy almost a hundred years old."

"Hmm, really old, but the pictures are still _accurate_ let me tell you that." Kirk said with a wicked grin. McCoy rolled his eyes.

Kirk strolled back to McCoy's desk and sat back down on the edge, intentionally disturbing McCoy's papers. "So you going to send your dad a card or go see him this weekend? That stupid holiday Father's day is Sunday."

McCoy snatched the papers Kirk had crumpled and glanced at his friend, surprised by the harsh tone. Kirk wasn't looking at McCoy however; he was too busy reading one of the papers on McCoy's desk and speaking. "Maybe I'll send my father a card." Kirk continued. "Dear dad I really miss you even though you've been dead for years and I never knew you."

Kirk picked up a stack of McCoy's papers and skimmed through them while saying. "Or maybe I'll send Frank a card: Dear Frank thanks for all you've done for me. I would have never developed such a tolerance for alcohol if you hadn't made me drink half a case after I stole a sip of your beer when I was young. And thanks for teaching me what a stupid sh—I am. " Kirk ended bitterly "I'll never forget any of your lessons." He stared broodingly at the stack of papers in his hand then gave himself a shake and said to McCoy with a small strained smile. "But no, your dad must've been okay. He must have been a nice guy."

"How do you know?" McCoy asked.

Kirk grinned but it was forced. "Easy, You're not such a jack a—like I am" Kirk continued seriously. "Really though, I'd like to meet your father one day."

"He's dead." McCoy said evenly as he suddenly found a reason to become very busy tiding the papers littering his desk.

Kirk's face turned pink and he said. "Oh, I'm sorry Bones. I didn't know.."

McCoy glanced up and sighed. "It's okay Jim, it was a while ago."

Kirk was silent for several minutes and busied himself reading through the printouts of people's medical records; McCoy was too preoccupied in his own thoughts to stop him. "Bones, tell me she doesn't have this!" Kirk said abruptly and shoved a flimsy under McCoy's nose.

McCoy irritably grabbed the paper and noticing the specific word Kirk was pointing to said "What Rhinorhhea? Yeah she has that." He took the paper from Kirk and replaced it in a file.

"What? I just had a little _encounter_ with her the other day! You're saying I'm infected?"

McCoy wondered whether Kirk was serious in his horrified outrage or was making a joke to take McCoy's mind off the mention of his father. With Kirk he couldn't be sure which it was. McCoy answered. "You're only infected if she had a cold or something and I think it's allergies. However, transmission is also affected by proximity though." McCoy decided to have a little fun at Kirk's expense, he added in an innocent voice. "How close did you two get?"

Kirk scowled and said "How close do you think? That's not the point though. The point is I'm infected. I'm contaminated. I feel unclean; she should get some vaccinations or something. This is disgusting. Rhinorrhea is-"

"Rhinorrhea is a runny nose." McCoy smirked at the expression on Kirk's face as he registered the words.

"A runny nose?... For god sakes you should have said that instead of scaring me half to death!"

"You deserved to be scared. Maybe then you'll stop acting like a Billy goat in a herd of does." McCoy snatched the remaining flimsies from Kirk's hands and shoved them into a folder which he took over to a file cabinet and locked them away.

Kirk couldn't think of a comeback for McCoy's response so he yawned and was about to slip of McCoy's desk and see if the rain was slowing up when he noticed a photo sitting halfway buried under a flimsy. He picked up the photo of the little girl and said "Who's this Bones? She's kind of a cute little thing."

McCoy turned around and noticed the photo Kirk was holding. He marched over with a scowl on his face and snatched the picture from his friend.

"Well, who is she?" Kirk asked.

"She's Joanna." McCoy said shortly. He added in a somewhat threatening manner. "And she is not a cute little thing! She's not even six yet. What is wrong with you?"

"I didn't mean cute, cute. I meant—nice looking in a babyish-I'm totally not interested way." Kirk said raising his hands in a placating gesture and finished indignantly in an injured tone. "God Bones, I'm not some kind of freak!"

McCoy hostile expression subsided into his usual disgruntled one and he sat back down. Kirk slipped off McCoy's desk and settled into an actual seat. McCoy was severely irritated and Kirk suspected if he took up residence on the desk again he would be on the receiving end of a hypo.

"So who is she ? Your niece? God child? Friend's kid? A patient?" Kirk asked. He added after a second of thought "niece that's a god-child who is a friend's kid that's a patient?"

McCoy glared at Kirk, but didn't answer. He was growing more and more aggravated. Kirk didn't notice. The younger man had snatched a scrap of paper off McCoy's desk and was folding it into a plane. He deftly completed the task and remarked " She looks a bit like you, though not so surly and ill-tempered." McCoy was ignoring him so Kirk let the plane fly and repeated "So who is she?"

The plane sailed over McCoy and then improbably soared in a loop to hit the doctor in the back of the head. McCoy straightened up as he felt the blow and growled tersely. "It's none of your damn business Jim."

"No need to be mean about it Bones. I'm just curious about how you know her." Kirk said intentionally needling his friend. "You don't know very many cute females that aren't patients so naturally I'm interested." Kirk placed his elbows on McCoy's desk and stared at the doctor without blinking

"Go be curious about something else! Somewhere else!"

"You're in a bad mood. Somebody must have missed there morning coffee." Kirk observed lightly.

"Damn it! Jim leave me alone. I don't have time for you acting like an overgrown childish idiot. Go be a nuisance to somebody else, if you can find anybody that wants to be f—ing bothered with you! I don't have time for your stupid-smart a— sh— now!"

Kirk's expression turned hurt at McCoy words, but he shrugged like he wasn't bothered and said with a grin "Okay Bones I'll go and maybe you'll have time for my stupid smart-a—sh—later-" His words were interrupted by a knock on the door. Then a nurse opened it and poked her head into the office. "Dr. McCoy there's a patient for you, Class III tibial fracture. He was trying to rappel down one of the faculty buildings and in this rain he slipped." The nurse was trying to suppress a laugh at the expression on McCoy's face at hearing the cause of the injury.

She bit her lip to keep from laughing and looked around the office. She noticed Kirk and gave a small smile. Kirk winked at her. McCoy noticed the interaction and said to the nurse "Violet please don't encourage him; he's been acting like an a—hole today." To Kirk, McCoy added darkly "When I come back I expect you gone or you will be on the receiving end of a hypo that will make you wish you were dead."

Then he left the room grumbling about immature cadets and why he couldn't ever get any peace. He slammed the door behind him and as he did so a letter fell out his pocket. Kirk walked over and grabbed the slip of paper. It was written on card stock that was covered in glitter and stickers. Kirk opened the letter and saw the words inside were written in a child's hand.

_Deer daddy_

_I miss you. When are you comin two see me? Aunt Donna sed you were comin soon. My frend molly says because you are a doctor you have more impoortunt things to do maybe you won't be busy soon and you can come…_

The letter continued on after that with misspelled words and childish rambling; she went on to describe a turtle she had caught and a neighbour's dog that was having puppy. At the end of the letter was a large loopy Joanna written in crayon.

Kirk carefully refolded the letter and tucked it halfway under a pile of papers littering McCoy's desk. So that explained it. Joanna was McCoy's daughter. That must have been the little girl in the picture. Kirk was surprised McCoy had a daughter. The doctor had never mentioned Joanna, he had only told Kirk that he was divorced from his wife but he had kept the news of having a kid a secret.

Kirk realized why McCoy was so melancholy and ill-tempered. He missed his daughter and the letter was only dated from two days ago. Kirk sat down at McCoy's desk and activated the computer console. He quickly hacked the academy database and from there McCoy's personal file. He read the entries with interest. McCoy was divorced and had a little girl named Joanna. His father was deceased and had died of a lethal illness. The file further stated that McCoy's daughter was in the custody of his sister and the reason McCoy had apparently given the recruiter was _I realized Joanna would have a more stable home life with my sister than I could offer._

The file explained why McCoy didn't discuss his daughter perhaps he felt guilty for leaving her with his sister. Kirk scrolled through the rest of McCoy's file, then hacked into the mail going through his comm. Unit and skimmed through that. He found the reason McCoy probably wasn't going to see his daughter even though he obviously missed her.

_Leonard,_

_Since Father's day is coming, I'm sure you'll be back in town to visit Joanna. Though why anybody such as you claims to be a father is something I'll never understand. I'm sure that you'll be trying to make up for leaving your daughter behind why you went off to pursue an illustrious career among the stars or as illustrious career as a drunk can have. Anyway, when you come into town I'll be stopping by, there's something you and I need to discuss and take care off with you…._

The comm. continued on in similar fashion growing more and more acerbic. By the end of it Kirk took a deep breath and was happy to exit it. He couldn't blame McCoy for not wanting to go to see his daughter. His ex-wife sounded like a b—ch and Kirk figured that with the way she seemed to hate McCoy she would think nothing of bringing Joanna into one of their disagreements.

Kirk scrolled through some more mail until he saw one from a woman named Donna. He remembered the name from Joanna's letter and opened the comm. message.

_Len, I'm sorry you're not coming to see Joanna this weekend, but maybe it's for the best. If Jocelyn comes into town and you're here…We'll it won't be good for Joanna, she still can't understand that her mother basically cares almost nothing for her. And when you come you'd only be able to stay a while. Last time you came and left after a few hours Joanna cried for days , she likes when you visit but it gets her really upset. I'm not saying you shouldn't come she's your daughter but…_

Kirk exited McCoy's mail and shook his head. _Damn McCoy's life was so messed up._ No wonder the doctor was perpetually cantankerous. Kirk thought about McCoy's predicament for a moment then he made a decision. Quickly he accessed McCoy's personal file again and found the address of a Donna Withers, who was listed as McCoy's sister. Then he logged off and carefully re-arranged the desk making sure he left no evidence of what he had been doing. Kirk left medical passing by Bones who was too busy to notice him. The doctor was berating a cadet for acting like an idiot.

Kirk was on a mission. McCoy didn't deserve to spend Father's day miserable. McCoy was a good friend and Kirk was sure that when given the chance McCoy was a good father. Kirk was going to give him that chance.


	2. Chapter 2

Kirk slowed down as he recognized the address. A quick cross reference with the one he saw on the sign and the address he had memorized confirmed that he had arrived at the right house. He turned off the gravel road into a driveway and continued past the picket fence to an aging farmhouse. The entire place looked too proper and quaint; Kirk didn’t like proper.

He parked his motorcycle, shut down the engine, and slipped off. He looked around. On a second look the house which once had obviously been imposing was losing the battle to maintain its proper air. The yellow house’s two bay windows and white wraparound porch helped the house to maintain some of its image, but what would have been an uninviting place wasn’t. The wraparound porch was laced in climbing roses and the white paint was flaking. The bay window had flower boxes filled with blooms, which were overflowing the sides. Two magnolia trees loomed over the yard with watchful an air. A toy doll lay on porch and muddy footprints wove their way up the steps. A rickety porch swing creaked in the light breeze as it slowly swayed back and forth.  It was a little disorderly, but Kirk liked it much better than his initial impression of the place.

The house was strangely comforting and foreboding. It reminded him of his childhood home in Iowa. As Kirk walked closer he half expected his mother to come out, a bewildered expression on her face at seeing him after all these years of absence. And following her would be Frank yelling at him to get the hell off the property. Kirk sighed.

His musings were interrupted by a high-pitched voice. A little girl appeared from the side of the house. Her hair was pulled back into a brown ponytail and she had a grubby pink T-shirt and overalls that were rolled up to her knees. Her feet were bare and in her hands she clutched a turtle. She furtively glanced toward the door of the farmhouse, which remained closed, before settling in the grass near the steps. She crouched down and pulled several strips from her overall pocket and began winding them around the turtle shell. The entire time she worked her alternately scolded and comforted the animal.  She was so intent on her task she didn’t notice the man watching her with amused interest. The girl finished her task and stood up carefully lifting the turtle as she started towards a shallow pail of water.

Kirk had watched the little girl he recognized as Joanna with a smile on his face. Joanna’s actions reminded him of Bones with one of his patients half-solicitous, half-scolding. Kirk moved closer and Joanna still hadn’t noticed him. She was staring at the turtle as she carefully carried it taking great pains not to jar it.

“Just like a little Bones aren’t you? Only he’s usually all frowned up and grumpy. You’re nicer looking by far.” Kirk said conversationally.

The little girl glanced up at his words and her eyes grew wide. She dropped the turtle; Kirk caught it before it hit the ground and said “What’s wrong with it?” indicating the turtle.  The little girl didn’t answer; instead she backed away and ducked behind one of the magnolia trees. Kirk watched as she peered out at him with alarm. _He wasn’t that startling was he?_ Kirk didn’t have time to ponder the answers to his thought because Joanna spoke.

“Who are you?”

“James T. Kirk, but you can call me Jim.”

Joanna didn’t say anything, so after a moment Kirk said “And your name is Joanna.”

The little girl’s eyebrows raised and she cocked her head to the side and asked “How do you know my name?”

“I know a lot of stuff.” Kirk shrugged and added “Are you going to come out from behind that tree?  I don’t bite.”

“Auntie said don’t talk to strangers.”

“Firstly, I’m not a stranger. Second, you’re already talking to me. And third I didn’t ask you to talk I said come out from behind the tree.”Joanna didn’t move so Kirk continued. “Besides I know your dad.”

Joanna edged out from the behind tree. “You know my dad? Is he comin’ to see me? Is he here?”

She had such a look of happiness on her face at the mention of her father Kirk wasn’t sure exactly what to say. He shifted the cool turtle in his hands and awkwardly said “Well, Uh no.” He quickly continued as her face fell. “But he says he loves you and you’ll see him soon.”

“Okay.” Joanna whispered, but her bottom lip was trembling and Kirk could see tears gathering in her eyes. _Oh sh—he didn’t need to deal with a crying kid._

 He desperately tried to change the conversation. He glanced down at the turtle and noticed that below the strips of blue fabric winded around its shell were holding together a crack that had spilt its shell in two. “What happened to the turtle?”

Joanna hiccupped and wiped her eyes on her hand before saying “Green, tried to cross the road and something rolled over her.” She moved closer and pointed at the shell saying. “You gotta be careful her shell keeps coming part and I tied it together.”

The turtle’s shell was in grave danger of splitting open and the clumsy knots Joanna had tied were definitely too loose. Kirk observed. “It does look pretty bad.”

Kirk realised he had said the wrong thing when he heard a loud sob and looked up to see Joanna crying in earnest. He hastily put the turtle down in the pail of shallow water and crouched down to Joanna’s level trying to get her to stop crying. “Look it’s not that bad okay.”

Joanna hiccupped and said “It is, I didn’t watch her and now she’ll die.”

“The turtle, uh—Green is not going to die. I can fix her.” Kirk said. Joanna glanced at him hopefully and Kirk encouraged by the lessening sobs said “You have glue or some duct tape? That might work better. We can put her shell back together and she’ll be good as new.”

“Really?”

Kirk nodded and to his relief Joanna’s tears subsided a bit more. Kirk felt guilty for making her cry. He said “You shouldn’t cry like that it’s bad for you.”

“Why?”

“Tears are water and people are filled with water. Keep it up and you’ll have no water left, you’ll be dried into a prune.” Kirk sucked his cheeks in as a demonstration.

Joanna giggled and said through tears “No I won’t silly.”

“Yes you will trust me. I know these things. You’ll be shrivelled up with wrinkles like an old lady.”

Joanna laughed at the thought and Kirk continued. “Nobody will recognize you. Only your laugh will be the same, they’ll have to tickle you so you laugh or they won’t know it’s you.” Kirk reached out and tickled her. She giggled and squirmed out of reach. Kirk tickled her again, this time she shrieked with laughter and took off. Kirk ran after and after a small chase he caught her and tickled her until she was shrieking.

Kirk said “Caught you, couldn’t get away---“

“Joanna!” A voice rang out with alarm.

Kirk glanced up and saw a woman in a flowery dress and an old-fashioned apron watching him and Joana with great alarm. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and in one flour-stained hand she carried a rolling pin. The woman marched down the steps and strode towards them calling “Let go of her.” Kirk quickly released Joanna and the little girl took off toward her aunt. The woman took one look at Joanna tear-streaked and guilty looking face at her aunt’s tone and then glanced at the strange man. The woman noted his ripped jeans, scruffy hair, and the motorcycle nearby. She had heard Joanna’s shrieks and Kirk’s last comment and her eyes narrowed.

Kirk had opened his mouth to speak when a resounding slap landed on his cheek. “Ow! What the f–“ He broke off the comment knowing Joanna was listening and said instead “heck was that for?”

“That’s for you touching my niece. You keep your hands to your hands to yourself mister!” The woman shouted.

 Kirk rubbed his cheek “Well pardon me for trying to stop her from crying her eyes out. Next time I’ll try not to care.”

“Why was she crying?” The woman’s eyes were flashing and her voice was dangerously low.

“Well, I—uh sorta” Kirk didn’t really feel like explaining his seeming inability to say anything right. He finally said “It’s not important okay? “

Apparently it was important to the woman; she slapped him again.

Kirk bit off a string of swear words with difficulty. Instead he said “You are just like Bones for god sakes! A female version!”

The woman scowled and said “Who is Bones?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, Bones is my friend.” Kirk rubbed both his cheeks which felt incredibly warm and scowled back at the woman.

“Why do you call them Bones?”

“If I tell you and you don’t like the answer you’re just going to slap me.” Kirk said in an irritated voice.

The woman was about to speak and Kirk had a feeling her next words were going to be followed by some sort of violence, when Joanna piped up from where she had taken up residence behind the woman’s leg. “Auntie Donna he called me little Bones. Why?”

“He called you what?”

Joanna repeated her words and added “but he said ‘I was nicer looking by far.’”

“What!” The woman, Donna turned back to Kirk and he could have sworn her eyes were changing colours and fangs were growing. She took her rolling pin and whacked him soundly over the head.

Kirk wrested the baking utensil from her grip with difficulty. He rubbed his head where a lump was growing and yelled “Sh--- that is the f—king last time!”

“You deserve everything you get! You keep your hands to yourself and stay away from Joanna. I’m calling the authorities on you!”

Kirk scowled and let off a litany of profanity, the pain in his head had broken his resolve not to curse.

“That’s another thing. Stop swearing in front of Joanna. You ---“  The woman started trying to hit him with her fists and continued yelling at him.

Kirk caught her wrists and said “God Damn it! I’m telling Bones his sister is insane. Seriously McCoy must have had a time as a child with you, you were probably on his case about everything, no wonder he’s so tight.”

The woman stopped trying to hit him as the words registered and Kirk realised her arms. She asked “You know my brother? Leonard McCoy?”

“Yeah I do. And I’m telling him you’re damn crazy.” Kirk rubbed the lump on his head and winced. His fingers came back with a little blood on them.

Donna was looking sheepish now and she said “Who are you then?”

“Kirk, James T. Kirk, a Starfleet academy cadet, who you just assaulted by the way!” He pulled an ID and showed it to the woman then added. “I just stopped off to see Bones’ family and you attacked me!” _He figured it wouldn’t be a good idea at the moment to mention that he wanted to take Joanna off with him to visit her father._

“Well then what were you doing with Joanna?”

“I already told you, she was crying and I stopped her from crying. Sh—you act like I’m some kind of perv!”

Donna opened her mouth then closed it wordlessly.

Joanna said “He was going to fix my turtle too and now he won’t because you hit him. That wasn’t nice!”

Donna glanced at Joanna and said “Turtle?”

Joanna clamped her hand to her mouth realizing she had told her secret. Kirk frowned and said “You won’t let her have a turtle? You’re a real tight wad.”

Donna turned bright red and glanced between Kirk and Joanna then said guiltily “I ‘m so sorry. It’s just you know… I didn’t know you and…” She trailed off.

“I totally get it. If I didn’t know myself, I’d say I was a creep too.” Kirk grinned seeing he had made Donna more uncomfortable and looked her over appreciatively. Donna’s hair was silkily. Her face was soft and young looking. She appeared to be only a few years older than him and the dress she had on accentuated her temptingly. Joanna had wandered off to check on her turtle.

Kirk continued “No hard feelings though, I could never hold against somebody as cute as you.” Donna blushed and Kirk added “Seriously, if anybody had to slap me I’d rather it be you… that almost felt good.”

Donna blushed further and said “We’d better get you some ice for your head James.” She started to turn away.

Kirk neatly cut off her escape. “Call me, Jim.” He corrected as he blocked her path. He added shamelessly. “Ice is great, but you know what would really make me feel better?… a kiss.” He leaned closer.

 Donna was bright red and an annoyed expression crossed her face. She said “James. I’m —“

“What’s going on Donna?” A man came running from around the side of the house interrupting Donna’s words. The man was slightly out of breath as he said “I heard you yelling and somebody—“ He broke off as he noticed Kirk.  He saw Donna’s aggravated expression, Kirk leaning toward Donna and the growing lump on Kirk’s forehead and his face hardened.  He glanced at Donna and asked “Who is he?”

Kirk had straightened up and held out his hand. “I’m Kirk, James T. Kirk. And you should tell your sister that hitting people is not the way to win friends and influence people, seriously she’s going to be a spinster if she keeps it up.”

The man didn’t shake Kirk’s hand instead the man turned back to Donna with an inquiring look on his face. Donna quickly explained what had happened. The man’s expression by the end was amused. Donna glanced at Kirk and said pointedly “This is Fred my _husband_.”

Kirk turned bright red, and said awkwardly to Fred “uh--well you’re a lucky man.”

Donna continued “Fred this is one of my brother’s friends he stopped by to see us.”

Fred smiled at Kirk’s discomfiture and said “that’s quite a lump you’ve got there. You should’ve called or something; you don’t want to get on the wrong side of Donna, she packs quite a punch.” Fred glanced at his wife and continued lightly  “I know she’s got me a few times  after I made her mad and –“

“No, I didn’t” Donna said indignantly giving her husband a nudge in the ribs.

The man rubbed his ribs pretending to be hurt then straightened up, and shook Kirk’s hand saying “Good to meet you James.”

“Jim and it’s nice to meet you too.”  Kirk felt awkward now that he had found out Donna was married.

Fred continued “So you’re Leonard’s friend?”

Kirk nodded “Yeah, I had some time off the academy and I was just stopping by.”

Fred nodded and said “Well, since Donna almost killed you and you’re Leonard’s friend. Why don’t you stay for lunch? “ Fred may have been genuine in his offer or maybe he was just being polite for his wife’s sake. In any case, Kirk hadn’t planned on staying for lunch. He felt uncomfortable at the suggestion and was trying to think of a polite way to decline when Joanna came back and said “Will you please stay, and then you can fix Green.”

Kirk glanced down at the expectant face and found himself agreeing to stay. They gave him some ice for his head and then Fred asked him to help finish up the chores he had been doing when Kirk’s intrusion had cause a commotion. Kirk soon found that the property was a small farm; Cows, chickens, and an old turkey were roaming the pasture. A weedy garden was in back of the farm house and several ducks were paddling around a pond.

The scent of fresh hay, manure and ripe vegetables reminded him of life in Iowa, The smell was intoxicating and disturbing. He was reminded of things both good and bad. He remembered stacking staw bales with his brother and falling asleep on sweet smelling golden bales.  Kirk tried not to think about Frank locking him in a barn for a day and a half without food or water when he was six for not milking the cows _correctly._

Kirk was in the barn milking a cow. The old action had come back to him within moments. He was moving his fingers rhythmically up and down his head rested on the cows flank and he remembered fondly squirting milk into the barn cats’ mouths when he was younger. Behind him Fred was filling the animal’s feeder.

While Kirk had been icing the bump on his forehead he had mentioned living on a farm when he was younger and Fred had asked him to help with the work so it would go faster. Kirk suspected wanting to be finished with the work wasn’t the only reason Fred had enlisted his help. Fred had been nice enough, but Kirk hadn’t missed the look of caution that flashed through the man’s eyes at the sight of Kirk’s motorcycle, scruffy appearance and civilian clothes. Kirk’s suspicions were confirmed when Fred asked “So, You’re Starfleet?”

“Yeah.” Kirk said straightening up and moving to another cow.

“You go to that academy out west?”

“Yeah.”

“Why were you coming out this way? You have family near here?”

“No, I came to see Bones—McCoy’s family that’s all.”

“That’s a long way to come just to see your friend’s family.” Fred said as he shovelled manure into a wheelbarrow.

“Bones is my best friend, I’d do anything for him and he couldn’t come so...” Kirk trailed off.

Fred was silent for a moment the asked abruptly “If you’re Starfleet what department are you going for? You have an ID or something?”

Kirk turned around and said “Just say you think I’m lying.”

“I think you came here for another reason.”

Kirk stood up and said “And what is that?”

Fred turned to look at him and said in a hostile way. “I think you’re working with Jocelyn.”

“Jocelyn? Oh, Bones Ex-wife?” Kirk said remembering the name from the message he had read.

“Yes, his ex-wife. Don’t act like you don’t know her.” Fred continued. He was holding a pitchfork in his hand quite menacingly. “She wasn’t satisfied with taking almost everything he had. She wants more and more. She heard he’s in Starfleet and I swear the woman would rather he be a drunken bum on the street then try to make anything out of himself.”

Kirk tried to interject “I would never—“

Fred cut him off. “If Jocelyn is trying to use you to get something else from Leonard, I hope you rot in hell. And the only thing Leonard has left is Joanna and Jocelyn is not getting a hold of her no matter what games she wants to play.”

Kirk finally was able to say. “Bones is my friend I would never do anything to him and I just found out about Jocelyn today. I came because Bones wasn’t going to come because his ex-wife sent him this nasty message telling him she was waiting for him to come back in town.” Kirk glared at Fred and continued “I knew he wanted to see his family so I came so I could at least tell him how everything was going.”

Kirk had decided that it wouldn’t be the smartest idea at the moment to say that he had come to take Joanna somewhere even if it was to her father.

Fred stared at him for a moment then nodded curtly. “Okay, that was sincere. “

“Happy you think so.” Kirk said angrily. “You and your wife have a problem, always assuming the god-damn worst.”  Kirk added sarcastically “Is there anything else you want to get off your chest?”

“Not really except stay away from my wife.”

“What? I didn’t mention anything about Donna.”

“I know your type. You don’t have boundaries.”

“You know my type? I didn’t know Donna was married for one and second---“

“You didn’t see the ring on her finger? She’s married and –“

Kirk was tempted to hit Fred and storm out the barn “I didn’t mean to offend you or Donna. Okay? I fish not poach, but since I’m such a f—king sh—hole I’ll leave the rest of you saintly folk and take my adultering-money-grubbing perv self away from here.” Kirk started to walk away.

He had only taken a few steps before Fred said. “James—Jim I wasn’t meaning to insult you. It’s just me and Donna were having a lot of problems because of Jocelyn. She didn’t like to stop her disagreement at Leonard she has to bring everybody else in on it too.  For a while she wanted to take Joanna just to spite Leonard. And I guess I get a little overprotective of Joanna and Donna.” Fred cleared his throat and added “You seem like an okay guy I’m just a little paranoid and I called a friend and looked you up and your record isn’t exactly the best.”

Kirk paused and turned around. Fred actually looked contrite. Kirk couldn’t exactly blame the man for being cautious and he knew that he had a track record of offenses a mile long. Pike hadn’t been exaggerating when he had said ‘the genius only repeat level offender in the mid-west.’ Kirk said in a less angry-more annoyed voice “I guess I have been involved in some pretty bad stuff but that was a while ago. I started the academy and I’ve changed.”

Fred stared at Kirk and neither knew what to say finally Kirk broke the silence by saying “Well are we going to spend the rest of the time exploring my sordid past now or can we have lunch?”

Fred went slightly pink at Kirk’s words then he laughed slightly and said “Yeah, Let’s go.”


	3. Chapter 3

They got back to the kitchen, to find Donna finishing up lunch. She was busy in front of an old-fashioned stove and Joanna was perched on the edge of the counter watching her aunt and chattering. Fred walked up to Donna and gave her a kiss. He ruffled Joanna’s hair before attempting to snatch an edge off a cake Donna had left to cool on the counter. Donna playfully swatted his hand away.

Kirk watched the whole scene feeling strange, like he didn’t belong. He leaned against the door frame, and stared at the family’s interactions without joining in. Fred had grabbed Joanna and swung the little girl into the air. Joanna giggled as she soared over her uncle’s head before Fred settled her back on the counter. Kirk scuffed a shoe against the floor, and tried not to think about what it would have been like if he had had an actual father or even an uncle and not a monster like Frank.

Fred noticed Kirk standing near the door and an odd look passed over his face as he saw his expression.  Fred leaned down and whispered something to Joanna who nodded at her uncle’s words. Fred nodded once in Kirk’s direction and Joanna then the little girl appeared to say something in agreement. Fred turned around and started speaking to Donna. Joanna glanced once at her uncle who was still talking to Donna before disappearing.  Kirk straightened up and considered going outside, he felt really out of place. He carefully snatched a cookie off the counter and then was moving toward the kitchen door when he was blasted in the face with a steam of cold water.

Kirk opened his eyes blinking and sputtering as rivulets of water dripped down his face and soaked into his T-shirt. “What the—“ He started to say and broke off as he saw Joanna standing in front of him with a water bottle in her hands and a wide grin on her face. Kirk could only stare at the little girl’s grinning face for a moment then he said “Why did you do that?”

“I was helping you get clean for lunch. “ Joanna replied innocently.

Kirk glanced at Fred who he was sure had something to do with Joanna’s actions and found the man trying hard not to laugh. He casted Kirk a half-apologetic look before saying in a scolding tone. “Joanna I meant show him where the sink was, not blast him in the face with a water bottle.”

“Uncle Fred, I was trying to help.”

Fred gave Joana another scolding look and then turned to Kirk and said. “I’m sorry about that. Joanna—“ Fred glanced at Joanna before continuing. “likes to play tricks.”

“It wasn’t a trick.” Joanna said adamantly. She added with a mischievous glance at Kirk “Now your face is clean.”

“Joanna!” Donna said joining in the conversation. She continued “That wasn’t polite. Go apologize right—“

Kirk started laughing cutting of Donna’s words he said “It’s okay. Joanna was just helping, but now that she’s mentioned it her face is dirty too.” He snatched the water bottle from Joanna’s hands and squirted her in the face. Joanna looked shocked as she stood with water dripping down her overalls and muddy pink shirt making a dirty puddle on the floor. Then she grabbed a cup of water off the counter and tossed the contents at Kirk who neatly dodged the missile before retaliating with a shot of his own which unluckily caught Fred. Fred hesitated then within seconds he had joined the fray. A small but intense battle ensued that only ended when Donna yelled at them for ruining the kitchen and making a mess.  

They retired from the Kitchen to change into dry clothes and give Donna a chance to cool off.  Kirk dressed in the shirt and pants Fred had let him borrow and when he went back to the kitchen he found Donna in a better mood. Fred and Joanna had reappeared also.  Donna passed Kirk a stack of plates and while she and Fred finished up lunch, Joanna and Kirk were left to set the table.  The dining room itself was intimidating, a long mahogany table that could have set at least twelve people took up the centre, the walls were a stately yellow and the walls were adorned with paintings that would have looked more appropriate in a museum than a house.

When they finished setting the table, Joanna wandered off to the kitchen leaving Kirk alone. Kirk used the opportunity to venture from the dining room and explore the rest of the house. He walked down a short corridor and found himself in the living room. The place was much better in his opinion to the dining room. It had a homey feel; an over-stuffed couch was set against the wall. The coffee table was scattered with a half-finished art project that looked to be Joanna’s.  A large fireplace dominated the main wall in the room and crammed on its mantel and the room’s walls were numerous Holo-images and conventional photos. Kirk moved closer to the images, he was curious to see if there were any pictures of McCoy when he had been younger. He examined one of the photos closest to him and saw a slightly familiar man and young woman standing in front of a grove of trees, between them a little boy of no more than six peered out. Even though there was years between the youthful boy and the grumpy older man he had become, Kirk recognised a younger McCoy. Which meant the older man was probably McCoy’s father. Kirk read the inscription running along the side of the frame. _David McCoy, Eleanora McCoy and Leonard H. McCoy aged 7._

Kirk examined the other pictures scattered around the room and saw McCoy at his graduation from what looked like high school, when he was married and finally holding a younger Joanna. There were pictures of Donna and her husband too. Kirk lingered over the pictures, staring at the images, feeling slightly voyeuristic and intrusive and yet the pictures showed something he had always wanted... family.

Kirk shook off the melancholy feelings threatening to overtake him and did his best to summon his devil-may-care attitude as he looked at the rest of the pictures. He was spared the effort when he felt somebody touch his hand. He instinctively flinched and tugged his hand away from the unexpected touch. He turned and found Joanna peering up at him with a curious look on her face as she said “It’s time for lunch.”

“Huh?”

Joanna repeated her words and grabbed his hand again tugging him along. Kirk followed her to the dining room and saw to his dismay that either Donna had gone overboard  because she had company or was trying to make up for nearly concussing him earlier. In addition to china, and the seemingly endless amount of cutlery, the table was laid out with a lot more food than three people could eat. Joanna climbed into a chair and Fred and Donna sat down.  Kirk settled into a seat at the table trying to think of a way to tell Donna that the meal while appreciated was totally unnecessary and possible harmful , when  everybody bowed their heads. Kirk watched curiously as they stretched their hands out to grip each other’s. _What was going on?_

Joanna grabbed one of his hands and Donna the other. Kirk whispered “Uh, what’s going on here?” to Joanna because for some strange reason he felt it would have been awkward to ask aloud.

Joanna replied “What?”

“All this—“ Kirk’s whispered inquiry was interrupted by Fred saying “Since Jim is the guest perhaps he would give the blessing.” Kirk stopped mid-sentence as he realised what the whole hand-holding head-bowing routine was about. He didn’t want to ask a blessing for anything, not from God or whatever higher being there was supposed to be. In fact he wasn’t sure he even believed in a higher being. After all, if there was somebody supposedly more powerful than anybody why hadn’t they intervened all the times his life had been hell?

Kirk didn’t say any of his thoughts aloud. He glanced around the table and saw expectant faces and guessed any comments he said along the lines he was thinking wouldn’t go over well. Despite intentionally needling people there was something about McCoy’s family that he liked even if they were a little uptight. So, Kirk racked his memory and in-between scenes remembered from Holo-vids, whispered words as a child that were never answered and the few times his mother had tried to teach him to rely on something other than himself, he cobbled something together.

He cleared his throat, bowed his head, and began awkwardly. “Uh, whoever, well God I guess. I uh---, we want to thank you for all that we have and um—food, shelter and life and all that. So, uh thanks.” Kirk straightened up and found Donna looking a little shocked.

  Joanna giggled and said “that was funny.” She added after a few seconds “I liked it.” Then she dissolved into more giggles. Donna gave her a look and Joanna tried to reserve herself and failed. Fred looked like he might laugh and now even Donna’s face was slightly amused. She noticed Kirk’s face had gone slightly red and smoothed her own expression out while giving Joana another look at which the little girl stifled her giggles.

Kirk shook off the irritated embarrassed feeling he had and decided they weren’t laughing at him, but at what he had said and he guessed it was sort of funny. Still, he was glad when everybody directed their gaze from him and started eating.

Kirk was relieved to see the food was relatively innocuous and non-allergic looking. However he knew McCoy would have had a fit if he knew that he was eating without even bothering to check the ingredients, but Kirk didn’t feel line explaining his allergies to everybody.

He took a tentative bite and after feeling no odd effects, chewed and swallowed. Donna really was a good cook and in a comforting way the meal reminded him of the times his mother was home and Frank was on a out of town and the few rare meals they had shared together just him, his brother and his mother. 

The meal continued for several minutes, bites of food interspersed with conversation punctuated by the occasional laugh from Joanna.   Kirk joined in occasionally but he was really more content to sit back and observed the interaction with a slightly wistful feeling. Joanna's bubbly chatter, Fred’s serious and yet playful baritone, and Donna smooth and soft voice spiralled through the air. Kirk was about to speak when he had the sensation of being watched. He turned and found Joanna sucking on a piece of cantaloupe and watching him in a curious observant way , that was reminiscent of her father, when he was deep in an experiment or about to ferret some information from an unwilling patient.

“What?” Kirk asked through a full mouth.

Joanna cocked her head slightly to the side and then said “You eat really fast.” She rubbed her nose with her palm and then added “like you’re starving.”

Kirk’s ears went pink and he swallowed the mouthful of food uncomfortably. _Just like McCoy, too observant_ _Kirk thought_. Joanna was still watching him, Kirk turned away, but Joanna wasn’t the first person to comment on his eating habits. McCoy and several other cadets had remarked on more than one occasion. They noticed that often he either skipped meals claiming he had something else to do, sat with everyone else but mutilated his food instead of eating or ate very fast. McCoy had once claimed jokingly that Kirk’s food allergies had given him a bad relationship with food. However his eating habits really depended on how he felt that day.

Joanna innocently added “you shouldn’t eat that fast, in school if...” Kirk tried to ignore Joanna’s childish chatter, but her comments were cutting a little too close to home for him. His face was starting to feel very warm and he felt nervous.

He was relieved when Donna said “Joanna, leave Jim alone.” Before casting Kirk an apologetic glance.

“I wasn’t bothering him!” Joanna said. Kirk felt a tug on his sleeve and turned his head slightly as she asked “Was I?”

Kirk was faintly amused as he shook his head. Joanna missed the expression she had already turned back to her aunt and said “I was just goin’ to say if he was hungry he could eat my vegetables.”

“Eat your own vegetables’, Joanna.” Donna said a little exasperatedly.

Joanna scowled and pushed the food around her plate intentionally letting some slide of the side. Kirk glanced at Donna and saw the woman about to speak. He intervened “Your aunt’s right. Vegetables are good for you. Don’t you want to be healthy?”

“I already am healthy.” Joanna continued. “I can run faster than Molly and...”

Kirk attention slipped from Joanna’s and Donna’s conversation and instead he concentrated on trying to swallow the piece of food which had gotten stuck in his throat. He swallowed hard and took a few sips of water, the feeling still persisted. Kirk cleared his throat and noticed a weird sensation was spreading throughout his mouth and his stomach was feeling unsettled. He put down his fork as he felt a burning sensation the back of his hand and noticed a small patch of hives. Now Kirk realised what was happening, in fact he had already suspected it. Only he hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself. _How unlucky did you have to be to have two allergic reactions in one night?_

Sweat was breaking out on his face. _And was it his imagination or was his throat beginning to get tight?_ Kirk glanced up to find Fred and Donna staring at him, apparently his discomfort was obvious.

“You okay?” Fred asked uncertainly.

“Yeah, I’m great.” Kirk stood up and said “I’m going to go to the bathroom for a moment, I’ll be back.” He pushed his chair back and quickly walked into the hall towards the bathroom. Once there, he locked the door behind himself and desperately rummaged through the medicine cabinets. Painkillers, anti-pyretic and anti-allergic medications tumbled to the floor as he hastily searched for a medication he wasn’t allergic to.

Kirk was starting to feel sick to his stomach and failing to find any medication to help, Kirk knew from experience he should get whatever was causing the reaction out his body before it made him worse.  He hated doing it, but he stuck a finger partway down his throat and gagged once, before his body obligingly emptied itself of the offending substances and all the food he had eaten.

“Is everything okay in there?” Donna’s voice filtered through the locked door. Kirk straightened and wiped his mouth before going to the door and unlocking it.

“I’m fine... lunch didn’t quite agree with me.” Donna’s expression was apologetic and Kirk quickly added “It’s not your fault.” Kirk’s whole body was starting to itch and he had to resist the urge to scratch all over. He contented himself with vigorously scratching his arms.

Before he could speak again Donna said “You don’t look so good. One side of your face is really red.”

“Probably a rash.”

“A rash?’

“Yeah, listen...what was in the food?”

“Nothing much, just....” Donna listed the ingredients she had used.

Kirk stopped her barely a few seconds in. “yep, I’m allergic to at least five of the things you said---really allergic.” He paused to catch his breath and then realised what he was doing. _That short sentence shouldn’t have left him short of breath._ “Do you have any Benadryl or an epi-hypo or better yet, both?”

Donna’s startled reply of ‘Both?’ was interrupted as Fred came into view with Joanna trailing behind. Fred noticed the pills and mini-hypos scattered across the bathroom floor and raised an eyebrow at Kirk clearly wanting an explanation. Kirk realised the scene didn’t exactly look good, but deigned explaining in favour of concentrating on breathing. Donna glanced back at her husband and rapidly explained the situation.

Fred glanced at Kirk and said “I don’t think we have Benadryl, nobody really takes it anymore. We have some other stuff though.”

“I’m allergic--- to the--- other stuff.” Kirk leaned back against the wall. _It was really hard to breath now._

Fred noticed and grabbed Kirk’s arm. “You should sit down.” He guided Kirk into the living room and pushed him onto the sofa.  

Donna said “I’m going to check our med kit, Len was here awhile ago and he might have added some meds. I know awhile back he stocked our medicine cabinet with Tylenol and whole bunch of other stuff.” Donna added as she moved off. “But if I can’t find anything in a minute or two, you’re going to the hospital.”

Kirk’s gasped reply of “No hospitals” was unheard by her as she disappeared into the hallway. Kirk propped himself up, feeling dizzy and trying to breathe and felt totally embarrassed. Joanna climbed onto the sofa. Her eyebrows were scrunched in a furrowed line as she watched him. Kirk gave her a small smile and managed to say in between pants “I’m fine.”Joanna sensed he was lying through his teeth and didn’t appear reassured by his statement.  

Donna returned, in her hands she held a small hypo and a bottle. She set the bottle on the table and gave a slight shake of her head as she passed the hypo to Kirk. “Not only was there Benadryl, but he also stocked us so our kit looks like a 21st century med room,  aspirin, old-fashioned Band-Aids, chest rubs...” Donna trailed off.

Kirk didn’t care that McCoy was old-fashioned in fact for once he was immensely grateful for McCoy’s hatred of technology as he rolled up his sleeve and gave himself the hypo of epi. He felt his heart speed up slightly as the medication took effect and after a few seconds his breathing started to get better.  Kirk grabbed the bottle of Benadryl and started drinking it straight from the container. He sat it back down with a little more than half the bottle gone.

Fred eyed the container and said “I’m pretty sure that was a hell of a lot more than the recommended dosage.”He gave a small laugh. Donna elbowed her husband and sent him a glare. Kirk didn’t care about Fred’s comment he was only happy to feel himself returning to normal. He drank a little more Benadryl and breathed slowly. After a few minutes the  hives were starting to disappear and the itching was better. He was also starting to feel the effects of the Benadryl. He yawned, and his eye lids fluttered.  Joanna leaned forward and asked “Are you okay now?”

Kirk nodded and yawned again drowsily. The thought of a nap was very tempting at the moment. Kirk leaned his head back and closed his eyes halfway.

Fred saw the movement and said “We’ll let you get some sleep.” He scooped Joanna up and placed her on his shoulders. “It’s time for you to take a nap too young lady.”

Joanna immediately said “I don’t want one.”

“Well you’re having one anyway.”

Joanna tried changing tracts. “Jim said he’d fix my turtle, I can’t sleep now. Green will—“

Fred interrupted her excuse with “He’ll fix your turtle later.”

“You will Jim?” Joanna had twisted around on her uncle’s shoulders to ask Kirk.

Kirk opened his eyes again and nodded at Joanna. “Of course.” He mumbled drowsily.

Joanna appeared satisfied. Then turned back to her uncle and said. “I have to check on her. She—“

“She’s fine—“

“But I—“

Joanna’s protests faded away as Fred and her left the room. Donna followed them out. Kirk stretched out on the sofa. _Maybe getting some rest wasn’t such a bad idea._ He had barely closed his eyes before he felt a blanket draped across him. He opened his eyes and saw Donna walking towards a cabinet. He watched as grabbed two pillows and came back to him.

She said “You know you really should tell people about your allergies, before you eat something and wind up killing yourself, that’s irresponsible.”

“You don’t need to scold me about being irresponsible Bones does that enough. Plus—“ Kirk gave an ingratiating smile and said “there’s a benefit to being irresponsible.”

“Like what?” Donna said sceptically.

“Like having a beautiful woman worrying about you.” Kirk replied smoothly.

Donna  threw one of the pillows she was holding at him. Kirk deftly caught it. Donna said “I wasn’t worried.”

“You were.” Kirk added like it was an afterthought. “And you owe me.”

“For what.”

“This is the second time you’ve nearly killed me. I should sue for damages at the very least.”

Donna rolled her eyes.

Kirk continued “I’m a generous person though, you can keep the credits ....I’ll settle for... a kiss.”

Donna hit him with the last pillow she was holding and said “Obviously the Benadryl has skewed your mind to what’s possible and what’s not, because your request is a never-event.” But her neck was a little red.

Kirk just grinned. Remembering his conversation with Fred, Kirk resisted the urge to say something else as he watched Donna leave the room. When she was gone, he sighed and settled back on the sofa. He didn’t mean any harm, but he couldn’t get out of the habit of flirting with almost everybody he met. However, he genuinely liked Donna. _It’s a shame she’s married he thought as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed that, next update will be in about a week.


	4. Chapter 4

Kirk woke to find the house empty. He was breathing fast as the snatches of a dream, which was a nightmarish memory than anything else, slowly faded from his mind.  The stillness of the air and the absence of the tiny sounds that came when other people were nearby confirmed that he was alone in the house. Kirk pushed down the apprehension that always accompanied him when he awoke to find himself in unfamiliar surroundings alone and remembered where he was. He swung his legs over the side of the sofa and rubbed his eyes. The time on the chronometer showed it was almost late afternoon. 

He stood up and stretched. After a quick look through the house he found a note on the counter reading _we’ll be at the pond_ in a curly script.

 _They had a pond?_ Kirk’s shirt was sticking to his back and he liked swimming. He certainly wasn’t being left out of any fun that was being had. He spotted a pair of swimming trucks in a pile of neatly folded laundry and pulled them on. They were Fred’s and a little big but they fit. Kirk elected to keep his shirt to avoid questions about the scars that covered his back and started out the house. He was halfway out the door when a thought occurred to him. Fred probably wasn’t going to be happy with having his clothes borrowed without permission and Kirk briefly considered whether his action fit into the category of what McCoy referred to as having not boundaries.  

McCoy was constantly telling him that either he deliberately liked to anger people by taking their stuff and getting into their personal space or he was just clueless. Actually it was a mixture of both. Sometimes he deliberately annoyed people. Other times it never occurred to him he was being irritating.

Kirk shrugged off the thought after a moment. _It wasn’t like he was stealing anything; he was only borrowing a pair of shorts._

When Kirk arrived at the pond he found Donna sitting on a blanket, underneath a weeping willow reading an old-fashioned paperback. Kirk dragged his eyes away from the sight of her in a fresh yellow-patterned sundress with her hair loose around her shoulders. He glanced around and spotted Fred crouched near the edge of the pond apparently trying to persuade Joanna to go in.

Joanna had a small blue swim suit on and was adamantly refusing to venture any closer. Kirk walked over as Joanna was shaking her head vehemently.

Fred said “Joanna it’s not that bad. I promise you’ll be fine.”

“No. I don’t want to go.”

“Joanna it’s okay.” Kirk noticed Donna had set her paperback down and was watching the scene.

“No!” Joanna said as her uncle tried to persuade her again. She tugged away from the hand he had placed on her shoulder and burst into tears. She tried to run away and bumped into Kirk. When she glanced up and saw who it was she clung to his leg sobbing loudly. Kirk uncomfortably felt his shorts growing wet with tears and after a moment of deliberation swung the little girl up into his arms and rubbed her back. She slipped her arms around his neck and Kirk heard her say “Jim” in a muffled voice. Kirk was painfully reminded of the many other children he had held in his arms.

“What’s going on here?” Kirk asked glaring at Fred as he felt his T-shirt sleeve growing wet.

Fred straightened up looking uncomfortable and said “Joanna doesn’t want to learn to swim.”

“I get that! And so you’re making her do it! She’s crying.” Kirk added. “I think you should let it go until she’s ready.”

Fred rubbed a hand through his hair, and then said “It’s not that simple.”

Donna had arrived.  Kirk gently pried Joanna from his shoulder and passed the still sobbing little girl to her aunt. He watched Donna retreat with Joanna to the blanket under the tree, before he turned his attention back to Fred. “So, explain to me why you’re forcing her to do something she’s clearly terrified of. I mean I’m a bit of an a—hole but even I wouldn’t do that.”

Kirk was more than a little angry. Fred’s actions reminded him too much of the times Frank had forced him to do something he hated.  Forcing Joana to swim was reminiscent of when Frank had supposedly being trying to teach him to swim. He clearly remembered the sickening feeling of his nose and mouth filling with water as he desperately tried to bring his head above the surface so he could breathe and Frank watching him and laughing.

Fred had turned red at Kirk’s words he said. “I’m not being a jerk. Joana’s terrified of water and she’s been having these nightmares of drowning for a long time and I thought if she could actually swim they might go away. “

“Forcing her to do something she’s afraid of isn’t helping. She’ll get over it on her own, everybody has childhood fears.”

Fred shook his head. “It’s not exactly a childhood fear. She wasn’t always afraid of water. It only started a while ago that she became scared.” Fred glanced away from Kirk.

“What happened?” Kirk asked.

Fred didn’t immediately answer then he cleared his throat and asked while still avoiding Kirk’s gaze. “Did Leonard tell you about what he was like before he got into the academy?”

“Did he tell me he was a drunk? Yeah, he did.” Kirk waited for Fred to continue, when he didn’t. Kirk continued “Are you saying Bones has something to do with why she’s afraid of water?”

“Yeah, I am” Fred said but didn’t expound.

Kirk said quietly. “Well, I want to know what’s going on.” He didn’t want to think like that about his friend but somehow he wouldn’t have been surprised to find out another person in his life was a lot darker inside than he had thought. He added even softer in a voice that obviously was hoping to be wrong. “W-was Bones drunk one night and he tried to drown her one night or something?”

Fred was clearly startled he turned to stare at Kirk with widened eyes before saying. “God No. He loves her he’d never do anything to Joanna. Why would you think he would do something like that?”

Kirk felt guiltily, but he knew that when people were inebriated they were willing to go very far. He told Fred uncomfortably. “I’ve known a lot of people who have done stuff like that and worse when they were drunk...and sober.” Kirk unconsciously rubbed a deep scar on his arm he had gotten from a broken beer bottle when he was a child. Fred saw the dark look in Kirk’s eyes and noticed the action, but didn’t comment on the words or behaviour.

Instead he explained. “He’d been drinking a lot since his father had died. That was a few years ago, but when he died something changed in Leonard. He felt guilty about it—once when he was drunk he even told me he had killed him—nothing anybody told him seemed to change his mind.”

 Fred paused and glanced at Joanna then continued. “He always takes things so seriously. I think he meant that almost right after his father died, they found a cure for the disease. Somehow he felt guilty that his father didn’t last longer. “ Fred continued “His marriage already wasn’t great . Then it started falling apart. He drank all the time, spent his spare time at the hospital. Finally Jocelyn left him and Joanna.” Fred knelt and tossed a rock into the pond before continuing. “Anyway, he was so drunk one day and Joanna must have snuck outside. There was a pond in the backyard where they were living and she went outside to play. She fell in and drowned. Leonard found her and revived her. Then he called us that night and begged us to take Joanna. He told her he had almost killed her and so she came to live with us.”

Kirk was silent. He didn’t know what to think, except he felt angry at his friend for what he had done to his daughter.

Fred and Kirk both turned to watch Joanna who was playing patty cake with Donna. After a few moments of watching the two play Fred added. “Joanna’s having nightmares almost every other night and we thought if she knew how to swim the dreams wouldn’t be so scary. She’s having a pretty hard time though.”

“Yeah, well what do you expect? Her father is a f—king bastard.” Kirk spat the words out as he turned to Fred. Kirk wasn’t sure if he would even be able to talk to McCoy after what he knew. _Hell, as far as he was concerned Bones didn’t even deserve to talk to his daughter let alone see her after what he had done._

Fred was startled by Kirk’s outburst. He stared at the furious younger man then said “He didn’t do any of this on purpose, Jim. He loves his daughter that’s why he went into Starfleet. He realised he wasn’t fit to care for her and he gave her to us...He’s a good father but he has some problems.”

“People shouldn’t take out their problems on kids. No child deserves to suffer because of what’s wrong with someone else!” Kirk said vehemently.

Fred was silent a moment, then said “Maybe, I shouldn’t have told you, but you seem like a good friend. Don’t turn your back on Leonard because of this.... Everybody makes mistakes, haven’t you done something you wished you could take back but it’s too late?”

 _His whole life had been like that._  Kirk’s mind flashed through events over the years, finally settling on a time almost a decade ago, but still as recent as moments ago in his mind. He thought of the decision he had made and the deaths that had happened.  Suddenly he didn’t feel very good and McCoy’s actions didn’t seem half as terrible as his own. Kirk said quietly “Yes, I have.”

Fred noticed the way Kirk had spoken and his accompanying expression, but Kirk was already turning away. He walked over to where Joanna was and crouched down to her level.  She glanced back from playing with her aunt as he neared and smiled. Kirk grinned back. He tried to think of the best way to approach the problem. He wiped a bead of sweat of his face and as he rubbed his sweaty palm on his shirt an idea came to him.

“It’s kind of hot today isn’t it?” Kirk asked casually.

Joanna nodded.

Kirk continued. “You know what cools you off?”

“Ice cream.” Joanna replied promptly.

Kirk nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that does, but you know what works better? Water.”

Joanna glanced behind him at the pond before saying firmly. “I’m not swimming.”

 _Was he that transparent?_ “I didn’t mention swimming. I—“ Kirk began.

“I’m not! The water will fill my--mouth and nose—and I can’t breathe—and—“ Joanna's bottom lip trembled and tears began streaking down her cheeks.

Donna gave Kirk a none to nice glare and gathered Joanna up in her arms. Kirk resisted the urge to point out to her that her husband had been making Joanna cry a lot more and she hadn’t given him any dirty looks.  Kirk waited till Joanna had quieted than said “You don’t have to go in. We’ll just sit at the edge of the pond okay?”

Joanna turned to watch Kirk cautiously for a good minute then he saw her take a deep breath and she nodded. Kirk straightened up and Joanna after a few seconds of hesitation slipped her hand into the hand he had extended. They slowly walked towards the pond; Kirk could feel Joanna dragging her feet slightly. They stopped a few feet away from the edge; Joanna adamantly refused to venture any closer.

Kirk sat down in the grass near the edge and watched as she after a few apprehensive glances at the water became engaged in playing. Kirk was soon helping her make mud pies. Joanna was so occupied in her task she failed so notice Kirk was surreptitiously moving the venture closer and closer to the water’s edge.

After nearly a half hour, Kirk had mud caking his arms and the sun was beating down upon his back. They were only a foot or two away from the water’s edge. Kirk scratched a piece of dry flaky mud off his arm and glanced at the water longingly _,_ and then he glanced back at Joanna who was happily making a lopsided something out of mud and sticks. _Well, now was as good a time as any._  Kirk stood up and stretched then without warning he took a short run and jumped into the pond. Joanna stood up and gave a cry of alarm, but Kirk was already bobbing to the surface. He grinned and shook water out of his hair, as he paddled toward the bank. He deliberately splashed Joanna. She went perfectly still as the water hit her, Kirk held his breath wondering was she about to begin crying again. Abruptly Joanna giggled.

Kirk saw Frank and Donna watching the two of them, but ignored Joanna’s aunt and uncle. Kirk splashed Joanna again and then ducked under the water, as she grabbed a handful of mud to throw at him. He bobbed back to the surface as the missile sailed past him and landed in the water a foot away. He splashed her again and then dived out of sight as she tried to retaliate. The game continued for several moments with Joana getting splashed and Kirk ducking under the water before her mud missiles could make contact. He could see Joanna was becoming more and more frustrated with his repeated evasion and he deliberately swam farther out. Joanna waded a short way in until the water was lapping her ankles. Kirk swam a little farther out of reach. Joanna was solely focused on getting Kirk, but he was always just out of arms reach. Joanna had waded in up to her waist, when Kirk let her make contact with a wet handful of mud. He ducked under the water as the projectile hit and exploded in a cloud of dirt. Carefully Kirk swam nearer while still underwater without warning he dunked Joanna under the water.

It was only for a moment. She popped up almost immediately, but Kirk had grabbed her and now they were farther out. Her feet weren’t touching the ground anymore. Joanna stared at Kirk with water dripping down her face and her eyes wide with surprise, then her face screwed up and she let out a scream. Kirk was unprepared for the reaction and released her slightly allowing her to sink into the water further which only made her scream more.  Kirk quickly scooped her up again and swam towards the bank. Frank and Donna had moved closer, and Donna was giving him a scolding look. Kirk ignored her.

He carefully deposited Joanna on the bank, then climbed out the pond and sat down besides her. She was breathing fast and quietly crying. He waited patiently for a minute or two then wiped the tears away from her face with his fingers.

“Joanna, you’re afraid of the pond right?”

She sniffled and nodded. Then hiccupped. “you t-t-tricked me.”

“I wasn’t tricking you. You waded in and I was just playing with you. “

“You dunked me.” Her tone was accusing.

“I’m sorry but I wasn’t trying to hurt you. You were throwing mud at me but you weren’t trying to hurt me right?”

Joanna said “No.”

“Okay. you see we were both playing?”

Joanna gave a small nod.

“I know you think you’ll drown if you go in and I’m not going to make you go in.” Kirk said

Joanna appeared sceptical.

Kirk shook his head. “I’m not, but I think you can do this. You’re a big girl and you can do this.”

“I can’t the water...and I can’t swim... “Joanna was hyperventilating at the thought of even going near the water.

Kirk was silent for a moment then said “I was afraid of water when I was your age. I didn’t go anywhere near it.” Kirk didn’t mention why he was afraid of water.  He saw Joanna was watching him and continued “I couldn’t swim and I nearly drowned before I learned.” He didn’t mention that his half-drowning had been no accident, but courtesy of his Step-Father. He gritted his teeth as he remembered Frank chuckling.

Kirk focused back on the present and added “But I eventually learned to swim and I’m not afraid now.”

“I’m scared.” Joanna said in a small voice.

“I know but I’ll be right there with you okay?”

She nodded, but he could tell she wasn’t entirely reassured. So he added “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. You’re safe with me.”

Joanna took a deep breath, and then she nodded. Kirk stood up and slowly took a few steps back into the pond when he was ankle deep he stretched a hand toward Joanna. She hesitated then took his hand gripping his fingers tightly. Carefully they both waded in. When the water had reached Joanna’s waist Kirk grabbed her gently supporting her as they moved farther in. He heard her whimper as the water lapped her elbows, but he held her tighter and after a moment she stopped. When the water was halfway up Kirk’s chest he stopped and slowly treaded water, supporting Joanna as he did so.

He glanced down at the little girl who had wrapped her arms around his neck and was clinging to him like a monkey. “This isn’t so bad is it?”

She shook her head and gave a smile.  “You ready?” Kirk asked.

Joanna hesitated then he saw her straightening her shoulders slightly and for a moment she looked identical to McCoy before he steeled himself and went on a shuttle flight. _Little Bones_ he thought again fondly. Kirk gently detached her from around his neck and still keeping a hold on her slowly started teaching her to swim.

By the end of an hour Joanna could do a rudimentary dog-paddle and even appeared a little comfortable in the water. She had retreated to the shallow end with a small squadron of boats and was happily placing frogs in them as she sent them sailing across the pond. Kirk clambered out and sat on the bank. He dangled his feet over the edge and let the cool water lap his toes.

Fred came over and sat next to him. “Well, you have a way with children huh?”

Kirk shrugged. He glanced around idly and noticed Donna’s blanket was empty and she was nowhere in sight. Fred noticed Kirk’s gaze and said “Donna went off to get some lemonade. So you can keep your eyes to yourself. ” The comment was said lightly, but Kirk detected a hint of a threat at the end. He turned back around looking innocent.

“You have a lot of siblings?” Fred asked.

Kirk shook his head and said “No, I had one older brother that’s it.” He really didn’t want to talk about why he was good around kids.

Fred persisted. “Was there a lot of cousins? Nieces? Nephews?”

“Nope, neither.” Kirk said pointedly. He shifted uncomfortably and Fred didn’t speak again. They both watched Joanna in silence for a few minutes. The sun seemed hotter than ever and Kirk felt his T-shirt beginning to stick unpleasantly to his back. Without thinking he absentmindedly removed the piece of clothing and laid it on the grass. He stretched out and carelessly watched the ripples in the water’s surface as he let the sun tan him. His peaceful reverie was interrupted by a clatter and a strangled gasp and then he felt a ice-cold splash of something douse his back. He sat up and said “What the—“ He bit off the response, not because Joanna was around but because Donna was staring at him.

She was holding a tray with four glasses of lemonade –one of which had fallen on him—and looking at him like he was a freak. Kirk was confused for a moment until he noticed Fred watching him too and realised they both were examining his back. He hastily snatched his damp T-shirt from the grass. He tugged it on, but not before Fred muttered “Sh--! What happened to you?”

Kirk avoided the other’s eyes and stared out at Joanna who hadn’t noticed the commotion. Donna said “Your back is covered in scars. I mean I noticed your arms and legs, but your back is just...”Donna trailed off.

Kirk didn’t need to hear the rest to know what she was thinking. He knew the scars covering his body were horrific, and gruesome. People throughout his life who had seen them had said as much. Donna pressed him further. “How did that happen?”

“When I was a child... I had a few ... accidents and later in life there were some fights.” Kirk wrapped his arms around his legs and didn’t bother to speak again. He didn’t feel like going into details.

Fred quietly said “Those don’t look like accidents. A lot of them are the same age and they have a pattern like—“ Kirk turned to glare at Fred, as the man tried to speak Kirk stood up and brushed mud off his clothes. Loudly he said to Donna ignoring Fred.  “I’m hungry. What’s for dinner? I think I deserve dinner after nearly being killed twice by you today.”

Donna didn’t answer and Kirk didn’t like the way she and her husband were watching him. He turned away from their eyes and dived back into the pond. He stayed under the surface letting the cool water envelope him. When he surfaced Donna and Fred were still staring at him. Kirk ignored them and swam over to Joanna. The little girl gave him a bright smile and passed him a boat. _At least she wasn’t staring at him like he’d grown a horn and six legs._

After having Kirk pointedly ignore them, Donna and Fred glanced away.

Kirk was glad. He didn’t want them to ask anymore question. He didn’t want to be compelled to give answers. He didn’t want to talk about anything. He was fine now. He was over it. He didn’t want to bring up the past. It was too painful.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really an important note, but I felt I probably should address this matter in any case. and uh...please don't laugh;)
> 
> A reviewer for this story took great eschew with Jim repairing the turtle the way he did. All I have to say is that it's entirely possible. Small cracks can be mended using glue, tape, and clamps, the carpace needs to be held together long enough for the it to begin healing. Also the turtle wasn't very badly damaged, because if it was the best thing would be to take it to the vet. Joanna kind of exaggerated how bad it was which is understandable, with her being a little child. So this type of repair is possible and medically sound if severe damage isn't present or the turtle flesh isn't exposed.

It was almost night time. Kirk was sitting on the farmhouse steps with Fred on one side and Joanna on the other.  Kirk had a turtle on his lap and a pile of tools strewn near his feet. He had taken two clamps and glued them on either side of the cracked turtle’s shell. He stretched out a hand and Joanna passed him a zip tie as she watched his actions with avid fascination.

Kirk fed the zip tie through the clamps and slowly cinched the fastener tight until the crack came together. “Doesn’t that hurt?” Joanna asked.

Kirk shook his head. He gave one last pull and then put a few pieces of duct tape across the now-sealed crack before he was satisfied with his work. He passed the slightly damp reptile to Joanna.

The little girl was delighted. “You fixed her!”                                         

“Yeah, just keep the clamps on for a few months and don’t play around with it too much.”

Joanna nodded vigorously, before jumping to her feet taking the turtle to a shallow pan of water. Kirk started to gather the tools by his feet. He dropped a handful into the tool box as heard Joanna say “thank you.” He glanced up and noticed the little girl had come back. Kirk was even more startled when she threw her arms around his neck hugging him and gave him a kiss on his cheek.  He flinched at the contact, and then awkwardly he hugged her back. The gesture was uncomfortable and yet pleasant. Kirk bit the inside of his cheek at the memories the action had evoked.

After a moment, Joanna released him and went back to her turtle. Kirk gathered the rest of the tools, put them away and then came back to the steps. He watched as Joanna let the turtle crawl and walked behind. _The joys of childhood._ Kirk sighed and contemplated his hands, thinking.

Fred broke the silence. “What’s your story really?” Kirk pretended like he hadn’t heard the comment. They had left the pond almost two hours ago and after Fred and Donna’s attempts to find out what was going on Kirk hadn’t said a word to either of them. _Why couldn’t they get it into their heads he didn’t want to be bothered?_

Fred continued. “You come here acting like you don’t have a care in the world, everything’s’ a joke, you randomly decided to visit your friend’s family. You’re great with kids but you don’t want to talk about why and you have scars everywhere. What’s the deal?”

Kirk didn’t say anything. He glanced at Fred then looked away pointedly. The man continued “You can’t be that old and those scars are from awhile ago. So you probably got them when you were a kid.”

“No sh— Sherlock. I think I told you a lot of them happened when I was a kid, but I told you they were accidents.” Kirk stood up as Fred opened his mouth to speak again. “And what does it matter!” Joanna glanced at them. Kirk continued more quietly but still as intensely. “It’s none of your business. I haven’t had the best life. My dad is dead...ever heard of George Samuel Kirk? Well, I’m his son.”

Fred’s eyes widened slightly.

Kirk continued. “I lived with my mother and my a—hole stepfather and he wasn’t a really nice guy, so quit with the questions!”

Fred didn’t speak.

Kirk turned away from him and said “I was happy I came here for Joanna. It’s nice... but you’re a buzz kill.” Kirk ended the statement lightly with just enough seriousness to let Fred know he wasn’t going to take anymore probing questions about himself nicely.

Fred however had caught onto the first part of what Kirk had said. “You came for Joanna?”

Kirk realised he had accidentally revealed his real reasons for visiting and decided to explain before he wound up on the end of Donna’s rolling pin again. “I came for Joanna because its Father’s day weekend and Bones is thoroughly miserable. He won’t come to see her himself . His ex-wife sent him a nasty comm.-message telling him if he came back in town she was coming to see him. I don’t think he wanted to bother Joanna with all the drama  . So he chose not to come at all.” Kirk shrugged and continued. “But now , he’s grumpy as hell and damn depressed. I decided to bring Joanna back for the weekend to visit him as a surprise.”

Fred stared at Kirk with disbelief then chuckled. “That’s really nice of you. You sound like a good friend but when were you planning on telling us this? Or were you just going to kidnap Joanna and leave a note on the kitchen table explaining? That wouldn’t go over to well with my wife.”

Kirk was about to speak when Donna came out the house and asked in a slightly dangerous tone “What wouldn’t go well with me?”

Fred threw his hands into the air and told Kirk “I’ll let you explain.”

Kirk quickly summarised his plan and at the end Donna said. “First off No!”

“No? But Bones is your brother. Is it right for him—“

“I wasn’t finished.” Donna neatly cut him off. “I’m not letting Joanna go anywhere by herself with a stranger.”

“Okay, two problems here. You just said she would be going by herself then you said she would be going with a stranger which obviously negates that she’s going by herself.” Kirk grinned enjoying himself. “Second, stranger? Really Donna I’m a stranger?”

“Yes, Jim you’re a stranger. As odd as this may sound to you apparently: Knowing somebody for about eight hours does not qualify them as anything but a stranger.”

“I’m hurt.” Kirk said grinning more.

“Secondly, I haven’t seen my brother for awhile.” Donna pursed her lips. “And I really need to have a conversation with him about the company he keeps.”

Kirk could tell she was joking. But he said “Now, I’m really hurt you said no and called me a stranger. Then you’re insinuating I’m bad company but I’m sensing something pointing to a yes in your tactless comments.” He grinned in what he thought was an ingratiating and charming way.

Donna said “Stop that. You just look creepy, when you do that.”

Kirk dropped the grin and tried to look neutral.  It would have helped if Donna didn’t have a pretty floral apron on and hadn’t pinned her hair up. Kirk tugged his eyes away from her body and tried to focus on her words.

“I’m saying yes, Joanna can go, but a _responsible_ adult namely me is coming with.”

Kirk ignored the jibe. “Yes” He punched a fist into the air revelling in having succeeded.

Fred and Donna both were a little surprised at his reaction. Donna said dryly. “I’ve never seen somebody so excited to get the privilege of taking a little child on a cross country trip.”

Kirk ignored the comment. Instead he turned to Fred and asked “You coming too? I’m sure Donna would feel much safer if she had somebody to keep creepy me in check.”

Fred laughed and said “I’d love too, but I have to leave for a meeting tomorrow morning it’s mandatory.”

Kirk shrugged. “Oh well.” But he wasn’t really disappointed. _A few hours alone with Donna should be enough to wheedle a kiss from her._

Donna disappeared back into the house and after a few moments repapered with a platter of sandwiches and a pitcher of lemonade. Under one arm a chequered red-and –white table cloth was tucked.

Kirk tugged the tablecloth out and laid it on the glass.  They all settled down to eat dinner and thanks to Donna carefully asking Kirk what he was allergic to the meal was allergy-free. The sky was finally dark and Fred turned some lanterns on as Donna brought desert. It was cookies. Kirk took one and chewed for a moment before an odd look crossed his face. He swallowed the bite and set the cookie down.

Donna didn’t miss the action. She said in a concerned voice. “I checked the ingredients, carefully. You shouldn’t be allergic to them.”

“It’s not that” Kirk muttered. He added “I just don’t like them.” Donna didn’t push the issue.

Kirk didn’t dislike the cookies, themselves it was the memory the sweet grainy taste had brought back. _He remembered finding a dusty package of the same cookies on a looted shelf and bringing the package back to a group of children. He remembered the delight on their faces as they ate what for some of them would be their last meal._ Kirk blinked to clear his eyes which suddenly were a little blurry. He stared into the darkening night sky and then a greenish-light winked in and out of existence, then another. _Fireflies._

Kirk turned to Donna. “Do you have a jar?”

Donna appeared a little startled by the request, but said. “Yes, in the cabinet near the back door, there—

Kirk jumped up abruptly and said “I’ll be right back” before he dashed into the house. , leaving Donna and Fred staring after him bemusedly. Kirk reappeared with two chipped mason jars in his hands.

Fred asked the question that all of them wanted to know. “What are those for?”

“Fireflies. “ Kirk replied simply before offering Joanna a jar and saying “want to help me catch some.” Joanna crammed the rest of a cookie into her mouth before nodding eagerly. Soon her and Kirk were chasing the bugs across the dewy grass. Donna and Fred had retreated to the farmhouse steps and watched as Kirk and Joanna filled the jars laughing and shouting. Soon the task of catching fireflies degenerated into a game of tag that ended with Kirk and Joanna collapsing in a laughing heap in the middle of the yard.

Kirk got to his feet after a moment or two and scooped Joanna up. He noticed her eyes were fluttering and had seen her yawning even though she tried to hide it. Kirk walked back to the porch and settled on the swing. Joanna yawned widely and rubbed her eyes, as she struggled to stay awake. She glanced up at him from where she was sitting in his lap and said “I’ll see my dad tomorrow?”

“Yep.”

“I wish it was tomorrow now.” Joanna murmured sleepily.

“Close your eyes and when you awake up it will be.”

Joanna eyes fluttered shut again but she forced them back open. For several minutes she tried to stay awake. Kirk slowly felt her body relax, before her she fell asleep she drowsily murmured “I love you.”

Kirk went very still. He watched as she surrendered to sleep. Her mouth was slightly  open and her face was  perfectly calm. Her warm weight had settled in his arms, bringing back memories. Kirk closed his eyes and allowed himself to see the images ebbing forward. After a moment he opened his burning eyes and stood up being careful not to jar Joanna. He walked over to Donna and Fred who had quietly watched the interaction without comment and said ‘It’s getting kind of late. I think I’ll go to bed.”

He passed the still sleeping Joanna over , and turned to walk into the house—Fred and Donna had already said he could stay the night. He brushed a hand over his eyes, wiping away the moisture that had developed. He had placed his hand on the doorknob to open it when Donna said “We have a spare bed room upstairs. I’ll go—“

 Kirk shook his head cutting off her words. “Nah. I’ll take the couch.”

Donna appeared unsure and said “It would be no trouble.”

“It’s fine I prefer the couch.”.” Kirk walked into the house and retrieved a pillow and blanket from where he had put them earlier and turned off the lights. He flopped down on the couch and stared into the dark. It had been a pleasant day, but at the same time there had been too many reminders of the past brought into his present. Kirk laid there long into the night letting jumbled memories tumble through his mind.

XXXX XXXX

Kirk awoke long before everybody else. He grabbed a quick breakfast of coffee and an apple and changed back into his clothes which Donna had apparently freshly laundered. He left a note on the kitchen counter and went to return his rented motorcycle and arrange an air skimmer to the shuttle port.

When he returned Joanna and Donna were almost ready. In fact they would have been ready if Donna wasn’t obsessing over what she should take, Kirk bit his tongue and resisted with difficulty pointing out that she wasn’t going on a three month mission in deep space, but a simple-cross country trip for the weekend. He shifted impatiently as Donna kissed her husband good-bye and Joanna gave her uncle a hug. _Sh-- you would have thought they weren't ever going to see each other again._ Kirk bit off the uncharitable thought and stubbed his shoe in the dirt.  For some reason the whole display of affection was bothering him.

Finally Joanna and Donna started toward the vehicle. Kirk followed after carrying one of Donna’s bags. He glanced down at the heavy bag and wondered whether she intended on taking in on the shuttle or could be persuaded to transport it ahead. Before Kirk had taken more than a few steps toward the shuttle he was stopped by Fred who said “I’d like a word with you before you go.”

Kirk obligingly walked over to the man. Fred without preamble began. “I expect Joanna and Donna to be in San Francisco within a few hours and I expect them to be back Monday morning or we’ll be having a problem. Do I make myself clear?”

“I guess this means they can’t take a detour to checkout out the Martian colonies like I was planning huh?” Kirk quipped. Fred tried and failed to look completely serious  at Kirk’s remark.

Fred continued “And I’m going to say this again. No flirting with my wife.”

Kirk couldn’t bring himself to appear convincingly offended and instead settled for acting like the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. He said” so is that all now or do you have something else to warn me about?”

Fred surprised him by saying. “No I also want you to know it was nice meeting you. You’re a good guy and a good friend. And...you’re welcome back...just let us know when you’re coming next time okay?”

“Why so you can avoid me? Or hide the valuables?” Kirk thought about adding _or hide Donna?_ But decided that definitely wouldn’t go over well.

Fred chuckled and shook Kirk’s hand then said “you’d better go.” The driver of the air skimmer was waiting impatiently and Kirk could see Donna trying to buckle in a fussy Joanna.

They made it to the shuttle port with three minutes to spare. When they boarded the shuttle, remembering Fred’s warning Kirk took the seat farthest from Donna. Joanna settled between them and fell asleep midflight, her head resting against Kirk’s arm and soaking his sleeve with drool.

Donna pulled out a ball of yarn a hooked stick and started finishing up something that looked like a slightly misshapen sock. Kirk stared out the window watching the scenery streak by.

When they got to San Francisco, they walked from the shuttle port to the academy. Joanna was excited at almost everything and stared as they passed the exotic shops and aliens filling San Francisco. Donna had to admonish her several times for pointing.

They arrived at Academy Medical and Kirk asked a nurse where McCoy was. The nurse recognised him and turned away from where she was calibrating a bio bed and pointed towards McCoy’s office with an irritated look on her face. She added as Kirk moved forward. “But if I was you I wouldn’t bother him. He’s in a very bad mood.”

“He’s always in a bad mood.” Kirk said.

She nodded “True, but I’m telling if you want to get your head chewed off then shoved up your you-know-what then bother him now.”

Kirk shrugged off her words. He was used to McCoy’s ill-disposition. He glanced at Joanna and Donna and told them to wait outside before he started towards the office.

XXXX XXXX

McCoy was not happy. He had spent the entire afternoon the day before treating a series of what he considered idiotic injuries. Anybody else would have considered a depressed skull fracture with a subdural hematoma, a hemothorax with flail chest and blunt force abdominal trauma with a tear of the mesenteric artery serious. But McCoy although he had treated all three cadets who had sustained the injuries in a professional manner, he couldn’t bring himself to think of the injuries as anything else but stupid.

It had turned out that the climber of Nimitz hall who had sustained a tibial fracture wasn’t alone in apparently going insane. Several other cadets had come in shortly after sporting numerous injuries and it was all due to idiocy.

As he had treated the moaning cadets he had yelled at them and insulted there family down to the early ancestors for creating such dumb progeny, when they had been sedated and were unconscious McCoy had continued railing at the individuals  until the surgeries were finished. The staff had wisely kept out of his way as he had walked throughout medical alternating treating patients and criticizing other the other staff's work.

The morning hadn’t been any better. A small army of cadets had appeared with hangovers, food poisoning and injuries from drunken fights. McCoy was fed up of people thinking the weekends were a good time to take a temporary leave of good sense and he had used the time spent administering hypos and medicine to give the cadets a good dose of his mind also

One nurse had finally convinced him to retire to his office to work on some paperwork after he had reduced a tech to tears and told her she was fired for not knowing _all_ one-hundred common signs and symptoms of Andorian shingles.

McCoy had stalked into his office leaving the sobbing tech to be comforted by the nurse and slammed his door yelling through the closed panel “And don’t come in and bother me with anymore sh--!”

McCoy settled at his desk and pulled up a photo of Joanna on his computer then after staring at it broodingly he angrily flicked it off. He started working on a report he was compiling and noticed his notes were disturbed, and then he remembered Kirk the day before had been sifting through his papers. McCoy bit of a string of curse words as he thought of his friend.

Kirk had went off campus they day before without bothering to get a pass and to cover for him McCoy had been forced to lie saying he had a doctor’s appointment out of town. McCoy was tired of Kirk not taking anything seriously and acting like he didn’t care about anything, he resolved to give a piece of his mind when he turned up.

A half knock sounded and before McCoy could respond the door burst open, revealing Kirk. His typical careless grin was plastered to his face and he appeared incredibly excited and rather pleased with himself.

“Hi, Bones.”

“Don’t hi me Jim. Did it occur to you while you were off doing whatever stupid sh—you wanted to do that you didn’t get a pass to leave campus?

McCoy watched as Kirk’s face fell a little at the less than pleasant greeting then Kirk said “Uh, no.” He hadn’t even thought about getting a pass. Kirk shrugged it off after a second of thought and his expression returned to its previous excited level.

McCoy didn’t miss Kirk’s easy dismissal of breaking yet another rule and irritably said “You’re lucky I covered for your irresponsible a--.”

“That’s really nice of you but listen Bones—“

“No you listen. I can tell by your expression you’ve got something up your sleeve.” McCoy narrowed his eyes and said “And Jim I’m-not- in- the- mood for whatever crap you’re planning.”

Kirk wasn’t fazed by McCoy’s comment. “You’re in a really bad temper.The nurse wasn’t lying...Good thing I brought you something to cheer you up.”

“What nurse said I was in a bad temper?”

“I’m not telling so you can start yelling at her.”

“So it’s a her. Was it Violet? Christine? Ne’dar?” McCoy asked already half-rising from his desk.

Kirk shook his head “I said I’m not telling.”

McCoy scowled. “Go away Jim.”

“I’m not I came to cheer you up.”

“I-- Don’t--want-to –be--cheered-- up!” McCoy growled through gritted teeth.

“Sure you do and if you ask nicely I’ll go bring your surprise in.” Kirk came over and perched on the edge of McCoy’s desk. “You can say please, anytime now Bones.” Kirk waited expectantly.

McCoy gave him an evil glare. “Jim, I know how your ideas of cheering people up work.” He continued “Cadet  Rivers failed three classes after her family died in that shuttle crash and she was worried she was about to fail the academy. So you decided to organize a water balloon fight that involved half the academy and coerced her into helping you fill the faculty swimming pool with dye just as the three faculty who were failing her were about to swim.”

Kirk grinned. “Professor Relik looks great with blue skin. I really think it’s his colour.”

McCoy continued. “Did it ever occur to you that if she was caught she would have been expelled for sure?”

Kirk failed to look contrite. McCoy added. “Everybody was feeling down when those four cadets were killed during an EVO exercise. So you thought it would be a good idea to take everybody’s mind off the situation by toilet papering Nimitz Hall, spiking the water in the mess hall with brandy and altering all the academy screensavers so they continually displayed jokes.”

“That worked. I think Renfield was being really unfair chastising me for that, everybody’s morale was boosted.”

McCoy snorted " Two weeks ago you saw Noel crying and so you somehow thought filling her dorm with over twenty puppies would help her feel better.”

Kirk shifted at that recount a little uncomfortably “How was I supposed to know she was crying because her dog had died?”

McCoy said. “Four days ago, two teachers who happened to be failing half the class suddenly had to leave class after two embarrassing episodes in class and came to medical with digestive difficulties and the day before a certain person—“ McCoy stared pointedly at Kirk, who innocently held the doctor’s gaze. McCoy continued. “helped me organize the medicines and I found four bottles of potent laxatives missing. So pardon me if I don’t want you cheering me up!”

Kirk sighed “I’m just fated to be thought of badly.” He muttered in a mock sad voice. Then added “Since you grouse and grumble about everything Bones, I’m going to take your irritable refusal for agreement and proceed with the plan.” Kirk flashed McCoy a sly grin before slipping off his friend’s desk.

“Jim you had better not!”

But Kirk was already leaving out the door. McCoy got up to lock the door against whatever hare-brained scheme Kirk had planned and paused staring  at Kirk.

He was standing in the doorway next to Donna , with Joanna in his arms. As McCoy stared in uncomprehending disbelief, Kirk gently disengaged Joanna’s arms from around his neck and said something  nodding towards McCoy. Joanna twisted around at Kirk’s words.

McCoy didn’t say anything; he stared at Joana like she was an apparition. Then the little girl’s eyes widened and she said “Daddy!”. Before stretching her arms towards him.  Kirk held her out and McCoy swung her up and gave her a tight hug. He savoured the feel of her in his arms. She was bigger than he remembered. Her hair was longer and darker. He pulled her a little away after a moment so he could look her in the face ;she was prattling away as fast as she could trying to fill him in on all that had happened since he had last seen her. McCoy listened to her with interest; he couldn’t talk his throat was filled with a lump and his eyes were burning. He couldn’t believe she was there, he held her tightly wishing the moment wouldn’t end.

 After several minutes he realised Donna and Kirk were still standing there. He glanced up and started to speak. A nurse walked by before he could speak and stopped in her tracks at the sight of the usually irascible doctor showing affection.

Kirk eyed the woman approvingly before leaning towards the wide-eyed half-Cygnusian nurse called Seila and saying helpfully. “That’s Bones’ daughter Joanna.”

Seila’s eyebrows went up in surprise then she smiled at the doctor and said “Oh really? So you have a soft side. I’ll remember that when you’re trying to ream us all new um—“ She glanced at Joanna then said delicately “execratory holes.”. Kirk snickered at her word choice.

McCoy blushed; he knew he was going to be teased mercilessly after it was all over.

Seila eyed McCoy for another moment then walked over to him and Joanna and said to the little girl who had turned to stare at the nurse. “Well, Joanna I’m Seila. I work with your father, and if he says it’s okay, would like a lollipop?”

Joanna glanced at her father who gave a reluctant nod. Before he could set her down Joanna had wriggled from his grip and grabbed Seila’s hand. McCoy watched them walk off before clearing his throat and wiping his eyes. The he glanced back at Kirk who was grinning like an idiot.

“Well, Jim. Thanks for—“

“Let’s not get all mushy Bones.” Kirk glanced at Donna who had tears in her eyes and said “You shouldn’t be thanking me for bringing Joanna you should be thanking me for putting up with your sister! She tried to kill me twice!” He ducked his head slightly, parting his hair to reveal a small bump. “You see this lump here? She hit me with a rolling pin hard!”

McCoy didn’t appear very concerned. “Knowing you, you deserved it.”

“For god sakes that’s all I hear. I deserved it! I should have a complex by now.” Kirk said in a false injured tone. He gave a sideways glance at Donna and said coyly. “There’s something else I deserve too. But I’ll never get it.”

“What’s that?” McCoy asked.

“A kiss, your sister is awful stingy Bones.”

Donna fake swatted Kirk who dodged out the way. She blotted her eyes and glared at Kirk, before turning back to her brother. “I don’t know how you put up with him Leonard.” But she was smiling slightly.

“The same way I put up with you, I have a high tolerance for crazy people.” McCoy said.

Kirk’s interjection was cut off when Seila reappeared with Joanna who was sucking a large lollipop. Joanna pulled away from the nurse when they were near and gazed adoringly up at her father. McCoy picked her up again not minding that his uniform was about to become covered in sticky goo from the piece of candy Joanna was sucking.

Seila stopped by Kirk and said “Joanna was telling me how you brought her to see her father. That was nice of you.”

“Yes, it was wasn’t it?” Kirks agreed shamelessly. Equally as shamelessly he added. “Say Seila, since I’m such a nice, generous person want to go out with me tonight?”

Seila just smiled and walked to where an intern was repairing a scalp laceration. Kirk watched her leave then turned back to McCoy.

McCoy was saying to Donna “I’m cancelling my appointments for the weekend. There’s a place we can....” McCoy continued talking explaining his plans for the weekend. Joanna was busy clinging to her father and staring at him like  he was about to disappear. Donna was smiling and filling in her brother on everything that had happened.

After a few minutes they paused for breath and  Donna glanced at Kirk who was hovering awkwardly and wistfully nearby.  She didn’t miss the expression on his face and paused only a second before saying,  “You can come with us too Jim if you’d like.”

Kirk hesitated then shook his head. He felt like his presence would have been an imposition and even though McCoy was quick to agree with his sister’s statement he suspected his friend really didn’t want him tagging along. Kirk casually replied “I appreciate the offer , but I’ve a got a lot of things to work on.”

“Like what?” Donna asked, not missing they way he had hesitated.

“Oh , homework, some papers.” Kirk smiled at Donna and raised his eyebrows suggestively. “Nurse Seila.”

Donna blushed at Kirk’s remark. Kirk continued. “I have a feeling she’s a lot less stingy than you.” He winked at Donna. He missed the disapproving shake of McCoy’s head because he had already turned away and started toward the silver-haired nurse.

McCoy stared after his friend as he boldly sauntered up to the nurse. Kirk may have been irritating, childish, and generally an a—hole sometimes, but nobody could accuse him of not being a friend...

\---The End---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now folks!
> 
> Thanks for reading and click the little comment box if you're so inclined! ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is appreciated.


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